Craft 2

"Craft 2", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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I know I'm supposed to write something here, but I can't think of anything today.  :)

Open Cage

"Open Cage", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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For some reason, I've collected many bird cages over the last few years.  They're all over my studio - suspended from the rafters and cluttering up the shelves.  As you may guess by now, I particularly love the shadows they cast.

Tomorrow, I'll get back to painting yarn.

Craft

"Craft", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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Another Monday and another subject - this time yarn.  I'm an avid knitter/crocheter, so my house has accumulated piles of yarn.  I love the colors and patterns.  Plus it is a fun to use strong marks to build up the depth of the yarn.  I may do quite a few of these.

I also like the reference to traditional 'women's' arts.

English 301

"English 301", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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I have many (too many) books left over from my college classes.  They are well-used and appealingly shabby.  I guess I've kept them so that I can appear educated, though I have to admit that until painting this, I hadn't taken them down from the shelves since we moved in (10 years ago...).

Dove

"Dove", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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I was uploading yesterday's daily painting when I heard a loud bang.  I thought a branch had fallen on the roof, but then our dog started barking madly.  I went out back and found this bird on the porch - apparently it had flown into the back door window, breaking its neck.

Aside from it being sad (and a little gross to have to pick up), I was struck by how beautiful it was.  The sun was shining and the bird looked so peaceful, like it was just asleep.  I was surprised that the eyes were closed and that the color around them was such a pretty periwinkle blue.

Childhood 4

"Childhood 4", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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Another book painting - adding Alice in Wonderland into the mix.  The annotated version of Alice is still one of my favorites - so interesting to learn about all of the references.  Though I like the composition of this one, I'm bothered by the text.  If this was one of my illustrations, I'd just fix it up in Photoshop...  Ah, the downside of analog media.

Childhood 3

"Childhood 3", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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So I went back to the books.  Today we have The Wizard of OZ, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone, as it was in the British version) , and Gulliver's Travels.  Harry Potter wasn't part of my actual childhood, but my youngest brother talked me in to reading it when he was 10 and I was 28.   I loved it as much as he did.   I originally read the British version because I was living up in Canada, B.C. at the time.   I tried to read that version to my son, when he was old enough, but I ended up switching to the American version because it was annoying to have to explain all of the British expressions, e.g. 'pudding' (for dessert) and 'jumper' for sweater.

I'm happy with how this one turned out.  I think the strong patterns on the books make the composition interesting.  More books tomorrow!